The Long Game
by AverageNeriman
Summary: Daniel was always one to play the short game, reacting to the events around him. Vlad plays the long game, for through long term strategy one finds the key to victory. No PP.
1. Stop, Analysis

Disclaimer: If I owned _Danny Phantom_, would I be posting on this website?

Author's Note: This story assumes the episode "Phantom Planet" did not occur. The goal of this story is to link together some ideas and to wrap up some dangling plot threads. With that said, enjoy.

* * *

Vlad frowned as he stared at his computer screen. "Contamination," he said to himself. "That's why Danielle turned out female. But who was the source of the contaminated DNA? It would have to be someone close to Daniel… Clearly, an additional review of the data from Valerie's suit is in order," he mused. "Can't have those contaminated samples get in the way of my next clone." He was interrupted by his phone ringing. He picked it up angrily. "I thought I told you to leave this hour free of interruption. I'm in the middle of important business."

"I... I know, but the Guys in White demanded to speak to you," his secretary replied apologetically.

"Tell them I'm busy."

"But Mr. Masters, we insist."

Vlad looked up to see the source of the voice. Two of those pesky GIW agents had the audacity to burst into his office...

Despite his inner frustration, Vlad kept his exterior cool. He put on his best friendly greeting face "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today, gentlemen?" Just in case, he shut down his computer. His perfect clone would have to wait.

"Spare with the pleasantries, Mr. Masters," Operative K replied. "Due to the late increase in spectral activity in this area, we have determined the need for us to have a larger presence in Amity Park."

Vlad frowned. "And that would consist of?"

"A permanent installation in Amity Park," Operative L replied, "and constant patrols of the city. Further actions and requirements will be on a discretionary basis."

"I don't suppose you intend to give me any say in the matter."

"Mr. Masters, it is imperative that the ghost threat is eliminated," Operative K affirmed.

"Since it is clear that further discussion is useless, I would appreciate if you excused yourselves from my office."

Vlad sighed as the two GiW agents left his office. They would be a nuisance, but nothing more. His thoughts turned to other matters as he rebooted his computer. "And now for more important matters. Bring up file 10406-VM." He watched as the familiar scene of Danny evading Valerie's attacks appeared. "Stop. Analysis. Check for contamination." After a few seconds, the computer gave back a negative result. "Very well, file 10406-DX. Stop. Analysis." Again, the result came back negative. "File 1874-MI. Stop. Analysis. File 2416-SM. Analysis. File 3299-IM. Analysis." All negative. Just as he had previously found himself lacking Daniel's mid-morph DNA, he now found himself lacking a source of DNA contamination. Sighing, he called his secretary.

"Yes Mr. Masters?" she hastily answered.

"I think I shall leave early today. I'm feeling slightly unwell." Though otherwise feeling fine, Vlad did feel ill at ease. "Since this contamination still eludes me, in depth study is required," he muttered to himself. He walked out of his office, ignoring his secretary, who by now had learned not to bother with a farewell. As he left the building, he prepared to transform. He quickly stopped himself when he noticed a white van parked outside. "The Guys in White still haven't left yet?" he exclaimed. As he approached the van he noticed one of the agents holding a phone. "Superiors, no doubt," he muttered. He walked as close to the van as he could without seeming suspicious. With his enhanced hearing, he could barely make out the agent's conversation.

"…agreed to our plan to hunt Phantom without too much…"

The voice faded as Vlad continued walking. "So, the Guys in White are here purely for Daniel. Perhaps I can use that to my advantage." When he had turned the corner out of sight of the GiW, Vlad transformed into Plasmius, flying off to his house. He was greeted by a holographic Maddie Fenton.

"Welcome home, sweetums."

Vlad sighed. "Oh Maddie, it seems we are in for a long night of research." He quickly flew down to his rebuilt lab. "It seems I shall have to look at the whole footage. Maddie would you bring it up please?"

"Certainly dear."

The footage began from the very beginning of Vlad's surveillance from Valerie's suit. He watched as Daniel dodged a missile. "Stop. Analysis."

"No contamination detected in related samples, dear."

"Very well. Continue." As the video resumed, Vlad watched Daniel dodge another missile after noticing Valerie. "Stop. Analysis."

"Still no contamination," Maddie replied.

"Continue." In the video, Daniel flew off, avoiding missiles and lasers alike. After falling off her rocket board, Valerie caught up to Daniel and threw razor disks at him. Most missed by a wide margin, but one hit its mark. "Stop. Analysis."

"Nothing unusual yet, darling."

"Continue." Vlad watched as Daniel escaped. In the edited battle clips, the fight ended there; Valerie's next encounter with Daniel was in his human form. However, the original footage continued. As Daniel reentered the scene, something, or rather someone, caught his eye. "Stop. Perhaps the contamination occurred in his human form, and she is the source," he pondered. "Analysis."

"The DNA sample shows the highest levels of irregularity," Maddie informed him.

"Hmm… I'll need confirmation, and possibly a new sample of Daniel's human DNA. Who knows? Perhaps the secret to Danielle's stability without mid-morph DNA will come to light as well." For the first time in hours, Vlad smiled.


	2. Interruptions

Disclaimer: Why do you think this story is found on this site?

A/N: Ok. A little action here, but still mostly just setting things up. I promise things will really get going soon.

* * *

"I am the Box Ghost! Beware!"

Danny sighed. "Can we just get this over with? I'm supposed to be meeting Sam and Tucker for lunch. They're probably wondering where I am."

"Ah, but there will be no lunch, for I, the Box Ghost, will…" He was cut off by a blast to the face.

"And now to end this, so I can eat." Danny reached for his thermos. Upon pulling it out, he discovered that the Box Ghost was gone. After putting the thermos away, Danny flew around the corner, where he the Box Ghost examining some boxes sitting on the curb. The Box Ghost looked up at Danny's approach.

"Beware the power of my boxes… of DOOM!" the Box Ghost threatened. He focused his power on the boxes, lifting them off the ground. The Box Ghost grinned as the boxes opened, their contents flying at Danny.

"Oh great." He turned intangible, the assortment of broken objects passing harmlessly through him. "Look, I don't have time for this." He reached for his Fenton thermos, only to be hit by a baseball bat from another box that the Box Ghost had located.

"Ha ha! You will not find me so easily trapped in your cylindrical container."

"Alright," Danny stated. "I really need to get you to stay in the Ghost Zone for good." He whipped out the Fenton Thermos just in time to witness the Box Ghost being struck by a pink blast. "What the?"

"Hold it right there, spectral scum," a voice announced.

"Oh great," Danny muttered. "More people who don't know when to quit."

"As part of our new mission," Operative K of the Guys in White declared," we will remain in Amity Park until this town is free of the ghost threat." He and his partner charged their weapons. "Starting with you." Both agents then opened fire.

Danny dodged to the left. "How is it that every time I want to do something or go somewhere, I get attacked?"

Operative K turned to Operative L. "Engage Ghost Defense Countermeasure Number 77."

"Roger that," Operative L replied. He fired a burst of blasts at Danny, all of which the ghost boy easily dodged. Danny was then left vulnerable to a net fired by Operative K. He jerked around, trying to break free.

Operative K pulled out a new gun and aimed it at Danny. "In accordance with the Anti-Ecto Act of 1972, we will be taking you into custody now." He fired a beam that began to draw Danny in. When Danny realized he was being pulled towards the GiW, he stopped struggling. He gathered his energy, creating a blast that broke the net and Operative K's grip on him.

"I gotta get out of here," Danny said to himself. He quickly flew away from the scene. A blast whizzed past his shoulder. After a second missed blast, Danny turned around to see the GiW in pursuit on hover scooters.

"Initiate Ghost Attack Formation Delta."

"Affirmative." The two agents split apart and resumed firing. Danny now found himself dodging blasts from multiple directions. After a few blasts, he turned around a corner. As the GiW whipped around the turn, they fell back alongside each other. Suddenly, Operative K went wide eyed. "Engage evasive maneuvers!" he announced.

"Huh?" Returning his attention forward, Danny found himself moments from colliding with an oncoming truck. "Whoa!" He quickly turned intangible, passing safely through the truck. "I guess the Box Ghost didn't scare everyone off of this street." He flew above the traffic flow to avoid any more near misses. Checking back with the GiW, he saw they were busy dodging traffic. His thoughts were interrupted by a blast from Operative L. "Not too busy to avoid shooting me," he noted to himself. Flying back down among the cars, Danny began to weave through traffic. While this kept him from looking back at the GiW, he noted a drop in blasts fired.

This continued for several blocks. Just as Danny was considering a sudden turn, a blast passed mere inches from his face. He looked back to see less traffic between him and the GiW. "Great. Everyone's heard about the ghost fight now." He flew back up over the remaining traffic to focus on dodging the increased blasts from the GiW. After a few missed shots, he took a quick glance forward. With the road clearing of traffic, Danny noticed they were coming up on the park in the middle of town. Looking back again, he saw another blast come right after him; he quickly ducked under it. As he entered the park, Danny flew into a group of trees. He paused upon reaching end, turning around to see the GiW slowed down by the trees.

"Time to get these guys off my back," Danny muttered. When they emerged from the trees, he shot at the ground in front of them, sending mud everywhere, including onto the two agents.

"Cleanliness breach again?" Operative K yelled.

"The boss won't be happy about this," Operative L groaned.

Danny smirked. "And with that, I'll take my leave." Satisfied that the GiW were sufficiently distracted for him to make his escape, Danny flew to Nasty Burger, landing in a nearby alley and transforming. He quickly walked over to his destination. "Now to deal with…"

"Danny! Where have you been?"

The shout still made Danny wince, despite his mental preparation. "Jeez Sam, you don't have to be so loud about it," he complained. He walked over to his friends' table and sat next to Tucker.

"She does have a point, you know," the techno-geek said to his newly arrived friend. "A little heads up would have been nice. I mean, you took so long I had to eat the burger we ordered for you while we waited."

"Dude, there was no need for you to eat my lunch," Danny countered.

"What? I couldn't let that good meat go to waste."

"Guys, focus," Sam interrupted. "So Danny, who was it this time?"

"The Box Ghost."

Tucker laughed. "Man, what happened to you? He should only have taken a few minutes."

"Well," Danny continued, "I was about to suck him into the thermos when I was interrupted by the Guys in White."

"Those buffoons? They couldn't catch a ghost if it was two feet in front of them."

"Maybe," Danny replied, "but they sure are persistent. It took me forever to lose them. What really worried me was what one of the agents said. It seems the GiW are creating a permanent presence in Amity Park"

Tucker winced. "I can see where you'd be frustrated there."

"Look, Danny," Sam said with her best reassuring smile. "They may be a nuisance, but you can handle the GiW. Keep your eyes open, but don't worry too much. Who knows? With some luck they might bother the other ghosts too."

Danny sighed. "I guess you're right."

As they were walking out Danny suddenly stopped. "Ah man, I just remembered I didn't even catch the Box Ghost!"


End file.
